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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

We love moody English pop stars around these parts, and were surprised and honored to find out that singer Adele might like us too - at least she gave us nice linkage on her official website. Danke Schön!

After a little research, we can't find that she has her own Dachshund, but seems to have a beautiful Bulldog!?

UPDATE 11/30 1 PM: Thanks to Mollie for sniffing out a photo of Adele with her Dachshund! Like Molly says, this red smooth is tiny and cute! Photo Source. By all means, if you have any more info, please leave a comment.

Adele is set to release her second studio album, 21, on 24 January 2011 in the UK and 22 February in the U.S. 'Rolling In The Deep,' seen here, is the first single. Bark on. We are a bit mesmerized by her voice.

Adele was the first recipient of the BRIT Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008. She is a multi-Grammy Awards nominee who has won two awards, Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2009. Source.

Thanks to Bludog for leaving a comment and letting us know that RuRu, the disabled Florida Dachshund who gained national attention after being featured on CNN a few weeks ago, has found his forever home. According to NBC2, his new owners are from Venice, and will pick him up from the Naples Humane Society later this week. Congrats to both RuRu and his new humans!

Meet Jeremiah Brinkley, a self-described drifter, with his trusty companions 'Anna Belle' and 'Dexter' the 4-year-old Dachshund, who might just hail near you at some point in time, but are seen here in rural Nevada on Thanksgiving Day. The trio are heading to Peculiar, Missouri to bed down for the winter after traveling from New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

"I love to ride," said Brinkley; "I go to bed when I want, get up when I want and find work when I need money." He also said that he has no family, only the friends he has made over the years. "Most of all," he said, "It keeps me from that silly TV." Then he added, "TV ruined me."

We hope to Dog he doesn't know about the Internet. Read all about this unlikely trio at the Nevada Daily Mail.

Meet Loretta Birchett and her heroine: pretty red smooth 'Toots.' The Baltimore, Maryland duo are seen here enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner organized by the city of Baltimore and the American Red Cross after a tornado destroyed their home on November 17th. Ms. Birchett has nothing but gratitude for her brave little girl:

Loretta Birchett said she was most thankful for her Dachshund, Toots, whom she credits with pulling her to safety from the storm.

Birchett said the dog's ears stood straight up in the air and she started pulling Birchett by the shirt to nudge her off the bed in the Mount Pleasant Heights apartment. The dog then jumped off the bed. As Birchett went to get her, the ceiling started "peeling back like a can."

"We got everybody out and everybody's OK. That's the most important thing," Birchett said.

She usually has Thanksgiving dinner with her two brothers. This year, they dined together at the high school. Her brother, Ronnie Askew, said the dog repaid a favor in saving Birchett.

"Somebody gave her the dog. She saved the dog's life and the dog returned the gift," Askew said.

We're pretty sure that beautiful dappled black and tan smooth 'Milla' is a queen every day of the year, but she actually got to wear a crown to prove it on her first birthday, which was on Thanksgiving Day. Hope you had a great birthday Milla! Her mom, Melissa Hawkins, says "I am so blessed and thankful for all three of our Dachshunds."

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

We're hoping that everyone has a grand Thanksgiving! Thanks so much to our pals 'Sampson,' 'Tommy Lee,' and 'Gina Marie' for sending us this nice Dachshund Hallmark card in the mail. And there's some truth there - "It's all about the thanks."

We're incredibly thankful this year that your 'Long and Short of it All' host 'Joey' is still with us to celebrate this holiday season. It was so touch and go with him and his medical issues this year - a virtual rollercoaster of emotions - as regular readers of this site know. And thanks so much to everyone for all your support during those troubling times. It was all your well wishes and prayers that helped pull him through to recovery - we honestly believe that, and are forever grateful. And also thanks to our local friends who helped out with Joey or offered support - again, we are eternally grateful.

Thanks to all of our regular readers who have stuck with us over the years, and those who share the site with other folks; thanks for all the comments on the posts, and thanks for all the reader submissions. We're incredibly behind with submissions - there are probably 40 or 50 in line for posting - we're hoping to get to each and every one in the near future. We're also incredibly behind on hundreds of e-mail replies for the site - but appreciate every letter that we get. Joey and Maggie need an Administrative Assistant sometimes!

And finally, thanks so much to the lovable Dachshunds who fill our lives with such pleasure and joy. Remember to keep those chairs pushed in at the dining room table tomorrow to avoid any jumping up of the little beasts who would love to take their turn at that turkey! But surely the little ones deserve just a little sample (or two!) at some point during the festivities.

Have a great Thanksgiving - may you and yours be healthy and happy. What are you thankful for?

Meet pretty 15-year-old 'Polly' and her human Annabel Dobson, who hail from Darras Hall, Ponteland, England. Thieves thought Polly was a puppy and stole her along with her crate from the kitchen. The criminals must have realized their mistake when they noticed that she was deaf and almost blind, so they dumped her in an alleyway miles from her home. Excerpt from Journal Live:

When Dawn [Annabel' Mother] came home she didn’t realise at first they had been burgled, and seeing Polly’s cage missing she assumed Annabel, a pre-school teacher in Ponteland, had moved her.

But seeing a smashed window and all the family’s flat screen televisions missing, she feared the worst. All her jewellery was missing, including her mother’s, who died over a year ago.Housewife Dawn said: “My Staffie Heidi was running around and I couldn’t understand it, but then I saw the TV had gone. They’d taken all my jewellery and all my mum’s jewellery, but I was more worried about the dog.”With the family in tears, distraught daughter Annabel began ringing every veterinary surgery and dog shelter in the area.Her hard work paid off as, the next morning, Westway Veterinary Group in Fenham, Newcastle, phoned up and said they had the dachshund. A dog walker had spotted her shivering in an alleyway off Wingrove Road and took her to the vets.Dawn said: “We were crying we were so happy, but she was subdued. She never goes out of the house because she gets frightened, so it must have been very traumatic for her. In all her 15 years she has never experienced anything like that.

Welcome Home Polly! Read the rest of this troubling but heartwarming story at Journal Live.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

LIFE WITH DACHSHUNDS
by breeder, exhibitor and judge, George C. Spradling of Wichita, Kansas, for the American Dachshund magazine, January, 1966.

We do not know why we prefer certain people, dogs or things. We like Dachshunds better than any other breed. How do we justify it? It's easy to sling out a long list of adjectives describing all of the good qualities (forgetting the bad) we attribute to them, but the same identical words could be used by another to justify preference for the breed that he loves.
We have owned Dachshunds for 30 years. During this time we have also owned, in succession, Afghans, Collies, German Shepherds, Giant Schnauzers, Weimaraners, Labrador Retrievers, Border Collies, and all three varieties of Poodles. Our preference for Dachshunds is not based on deficiencies in these other breeds. On the contrary, they were all superior to Dachshunds in some characteristics - and vice versa.
Certainly it is not based on the abilities of Dachshunds to win dog shows, because they are on the lower end of the totem pole in that respect. In all-breed shows our Poodles, especially, have run away from the Dachshunds.
In a period of five months we started a Poodle bitch, a Poodle male and a Dachshund male in the classes. The bitch won five Best in Shows, the male three and the Dachshund one. The Dachshund male was better in anatomy and structure than either Poodle. He consistently won Groups, but only the one time did he go over either Poodle for Best in Show. Most people and judges deem the large, especially the long-coated dogs, more handsome and, hence, more entitled to wins.
We really do not know why we prefer Dachshunds, but if we look at our life with a few favorite Dachshunds we will at least disclose their character and charm.

END.

Unrelated Photo: American & Canadian Champion JOLLY DACHS GEORGE by Mr. & Mrs. Michael Gordon (Ravenridge Kennels); cover photo of the February, 1966, issue of the American Dachshund magazine.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Swoon! Did someone say handsome? This is 'Tractor Tug,' or just 'Tug' for short. He was born and bred in Washington Island, Wisconsin, and is the No. 1 all-breed smooth Dachshund in the US. He will be heading to the next Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in February. We're rootin' for ya Tug, it's time for a Dachshund Best in Show! Read all about this big guy at the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Accessories are an easy way to up the coziness factor of a room. Pillows, blankets and rugs can all create that nice, warm feeling we crave after coming in from a winter’s day. Of course company like 'Oliver,' a wirehair Dachshund, doesn't hurt either. Read more tips to make your home cozy at The Lawrence Journal, out of Lawrence, Kansas.

You can win not just one, but two My Pet Lamp Dachshunds by OFFI & CO at Babble. That's one for you, and one to donate to your local Dachshund Rescue so they can raffle it off! The lamps are being offered by Clever Tomato, but the contest is at Babble. Giveaway ends Friday, November 26th.

Friday, November 19, 2010

HA! Apprently this Superhero Grandma eats Dachshunds for breakfast! Thanks so much to Erin Ozmat for writing in with this grand photo:

Hello Joey and Maggie,

I came across an amazing photo series of a Hungarian Grandmother as a superhero in crazy poses that was orchestrated by her grandson in order to cheer her up. The photo that caught my eye is of the superhero grandma eating a Dachshund sandwich.

Erin OzmatOwner of two very sweet long haired dachsies, who I would never make into sandwiches--although their barking does make me threaten it ;)

Read all about the photos and see a whole spread by French photographer Sacha Goldberger at My Modern Met.

It's always good to laugh at yourself, right? We recently stumbled across this Fry & Laurie skit and had never seen it before - hope you haven't either, cause it'll make your Friday. By youtuber hazel72 who notes: I swear this is the funniest thing I've ever seen.

This would make a great gift for a youngster this holiday season. We wish our nephew was still 5 - instead of 25! Thanks again to Maria Adams for writing in:

Hi Again Joey & Maggie,

It's Maria from DRNA.Back in Septemberyou wrote about a Kackel Dackel Game that was available in Germany. Well, Dachshund Rescue of North America was lucky enough to get their hands on one. We are auctioning it off on eBay to raise money for our Medical Fund. It would make an excellent present for a Dachshund collector!

It's not often that a disabled Dachshund looking for a home gets picked up by the local news service, which in turns gets picked up by CNN - RuRu must be pretty special. Excerpt from WBBH out of southwest Florida:

"He's a very active dog, very friendly, loves everybody. Loves to jump up and down on his wheelchair as much as he can," said Michael Simonik of the Humane Society of Naples.RuRu is paralyzed in the lower half of his little body. He was injured while living with a Rottweiler in LaBelle."They were playing one day and the Rottweiler accidentally stepped on the rear end of RuRu causing the damage," said Simonik.The 4 year old daschund was too much to take care of, so his family put him in a shelter.He was rescued by the Humane Society of Naples, a no-kill shelter specializing in dogs with special needs.One week in and RuRu is making friends but still looking for a family."I think his personality alone will get him a home," said Jeanne Rivera of Naples.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Thanks so much to Elizabeth for writing in with the story of her two beautiful smooth girls 'Molly' and 'Sassy!' She's even included some awesome bonus vintage photos! She writes:

Dear Joey and Maggie,

I so LOVE The Long and Short of it All and appreciate your work in sharing great stories, pics, and news about Dachshunds. I grew up with Dachshunds and now my husband and I have two. Our Dachshunds, Molly and Sassy, are number 3 and 4 of the ones my husband and I have had. Molly is almost 2 and is known in the family as the "crack" dog because she is so hyper and crazy. Sassy is a precious black 4 year old we inherited from a divorcee and is the poster child for the spoiled, docile princess ~ so you can imagine the mayhem at our house.

I've also attached a couple of vintage photos that my boss shared with me. He too grew up with Dachshunds who shared many Christmas card pictures with he and his sister.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Dachshund U.N., a performance and art installation, continues its rounds around Australia, seen most recently here in Perth. This is a nice video which recaps the day's events by youtuber tokenskepticpodcast who notes: A gathering of minds like no other! This is a short film I made of all the fine furry delegates from Perth, who came to the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts in order to take part in Perth artist Bennett Miller's 'Dachshund U.N'. Dachshund U.N is both a large-scale architectural installation and a participatory performance work that examines the role of the United Nations as a risk management organisation. Bennett transformed the Perth Cultural Centre Amphitheatre into a replica of the former U.N office in Geneva, Switzerland. The structure played host over two Saturdays in November, with all the delegates played by local live dachshunds!

There's no denying that our dogs are there for us during the good times as well as the bad times. And when things get really bad, the unconditional love of a furry friend has absolutely no boundaries - they can even save your life. Such is the story of Robert Peay and his Dachshund 'Lacy,' seen here, who hail from Springville, Utah.
Peay struggled with depression after losing his wife to disease, a son to alcohol poisoning and a second son to suicide. Contemplating suicide himself, he prepared to get drunk and do it.

What saved him was a spunky toy dachshund, Lacy, whom he and his wife had adopted three years earlier. He knew that no one else would take care of Lacy, and he knew that she’d miss him.“She’s the one that did it all,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot, me and her.”

Our Chicago pals 'Peaches' and 'Piper' continue to wow the crowds with their flyball skills, seen here this past weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. For 2010, both Peaches (#13) & Piper Man (#22) finished in the top 25 out of thousands of dogs who compete! We're sure proud of them and their humans. Video notes from The Flying Sausage:This is our team of 3 dachshunds and a mini poodle at the 2010 U-FLI Dream Team Challenge in St. Louis. Running order: Piper Man, Peaches, Kirby & Taylor.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Sing-a-long! Kicking off your Friday with a little light-hearted Dachshund humor, it's Wiener of Love by youtuber dartycolthwain who notes: This is a silly a capella song that I made about my dachshund. It's a song with a double entendre that's actually very nice when you're just thinking about dogs, but if your mind's in the gutter it's dirty as hell.

Thanks so much to author John Nuetzel for sending in an expressive little paragraph about his handsome boy 'Duke!' He writes:

Dear Joey and Maggie,

Duke is a rescue dog who flew to us in Memphis from Minnesota. He couldn't get along with the Toddler in Chief up there. So he's here in Arkansas and is terrorizing a 120 pound Collie instead. Duke is a black and tan long haired mini and is a licker and a lover when his lip isn't curled. He's looking forward to a career in competitive racing. He threw up the little bones but now has no problem with bones twice his size except that he sometimes can't fit through sliding doors with them in his mouth.

“I had a dachshund when I was a little girl, and I still love them. But what am I supposed to do with a pleather dachshund pocketbook, complete with red bedazzled collar and tongue that hangs out? I’m 48 years old!” -Melissa at Why Did You Buy Me That?

Thursday, November 11, 2010

In honor of Veterans Day, 2010, we pause and bring you this patriotic Dachshund tale:

Airman Apprentice Able, Red Smooth

By BARBARA B. WILSON
Route 488 H
Tucson, Arizona 85704

for the American Dachshund magazine, January, 1966

What was I doing in the U.S. Navy with a Dachshund puppy? That was a question I asked myself often during hectic, hair-raising months that NAVY WAYS EXCITME, better known as ABLE, was under my command(?) at Corpus Christi, Texas.
The U.S. Navy was happy to see me go, I'm sure. In part it was due, I think, to a small, fiddle-fronted, snippy-nosed, round-eyed, red smooth male Dachshund - Able.
Able came from a nice home of well-meaning people. He was supposedly the pick of the litter. I bought him strictly because I couldn't fly home to Virginia on Labor Day weekend to see the Warrenton Horse Show. Instead of drowning my sorrows at the Officers Club, I bought 8-weeks-old Able.
On Able's first night in the BOQ, I ended up sleeping in my raincoat on a bare mattress (how I remember those buttons!) with Able snuggled next to me. He wasn't housebroken.
On one occasion I wasn't sorry about that. I had left him in the bed, or so I thought, and had gone to the base movie. During the movie a notice was flashed on the screen: "Ensign Bachman, you are wanted at the BOQ immediately." I left hastily. My puppy was drunk. He grinned, and he could barely wiggle. I decided that he should walk it off, so I scooped him up and we walked, and walked, and walked. Eventually, the night air had some effect.
This misdeed to Able had been done by some student pilots. These "officers and gentlemen" had had a great time watching Able go from glass to glass, taking a lap of beer, a sip of creme de menthe, and swallows of several other concoctions. Able paid the leading culprit back. One night when said officer was sleeping off a heavy bout, Able slipped through the swinging doors and left something beside the officer's bed. Just retribution.
When I was transferred to a jet squadron, Able went along. He became the official mascot of more than 300 men. We were in "The Den of the Tigers," and Able was the official Tiger. His life in the hangar was hectic. Each morning we lined up for roll call. Able never learned to sit and wait for his name to be called. He would walk up and down the line greeting friends. More than one enlisted man complained that Able had ruined his only clean pair of whites.
One day the Executive Officer told me that I had to get rid of Able. He had been put on report too often. I decided to get Able back to our farm in Virginia.
The time came when two Ground School Instructors were flying to Washington, D.C., to get in their flying time. Yes, Able and I could go. We set off in a Beechcraft. It would take many hours, but at least Able was going to have a chance to live a normal, civilian life. So sure was I of getting home that I took only a flight suit, and no money. Unluckily, Washington was clobbered in by thunderstorms, so we ended up in Marysville, Tennessee. We stayed there overnight, Able eating steaks at the Officers Club. The next day we returned to Corpus.
There my military duties as Education Officer (I had been transferred to a more "lady-like" job) went by the wayside as I put my thoughts into getting Able home.
The time came when we could hitch a ride on an R4D. The Admiral on board was a friend of my father's, so it was I, not Able, who had a huge steak this time. At Washington, Able greeted my parents with a shrill bark.
Though Able held a lowly Airman Apprentice rating in the Navy and my father was a retired Rear Admiral, I'll give you one guess who was boss on our farm.
When I married, it was understood clearly that Able was included in the deal. Able was flown to us in California. He was No. 1 until the day I had to have him put to sleep. He was the smartest, stubbornest, most lovable Dachshund I have known.

END.

Woof, WOOF! Don't miss some incredibly amazing stories of Dachshunds and the military from the archives:

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Even when we give our elusive wirehair friends a dedicated day here at The Long and Short of it All, it's hard to find good content to post! Thankfully we just found this fun and relaxing new video for this week. That's some comfy contraption 'Burt' gets to ride around in!
Video by youtuber b1kes, who notes: Our regular Sunday morning jaunt down to Brighton beach with Burt, the wire-haired dachshund.

Thanks so much to Callie Dunbar for writing in and sending such nice photos of beautiful blue smooth 'Dixie' and her handsome red smooth brother 'Duncan!' Your Long and Short of it All host 'Joey' would like to add that your Independence Day celebrations would be complete with the addition of a bright white piebald! Joey always has to have his say, huh? Without any further ado:

Hi Joey and Maggie!

I'd like to introduce you Dixie, our 4 year old blue mini doxie. Dixie is a darling girl, she loves her family and is as sweet as can be (once she gets to know you). She has been a part of our family for three years now, she came to us via craigslist. We responded to her ad and were told we had to come pick her up that night (at around 9:00 p.m.) or she was going to the pound the next morning because her owners couldn't have dogs where they lived. We had no idea dachshunds even came in this color until we met Dixie. Apparently she is quite rare and the majority of blue dachshunds, including Dixie, suffer from Alopecia. She has some short hair on her face and legs, but her body is almost completely bald. Since she has no hair she gets sunburned very easily and gets cold quite easily as well, so she has quite the wardrobe and (unlike most dogs), she loves and appreciates her clothes when she needs to wear them. She is also especially fond of burrowing into anything warm and snuggly and taught her older brother (who I don't think had ever even seen a blanket before we got him) to do the same.

Dixie's older brother is Duncan, an 8 year old smooth red tweenie we found at the pound two years ago. I've never met a dog as loyal and sweet as Duncan, although he does have a few "quirks" and abandonment issues we've had to learn to deal with. For example, when he's feeling submissive he rolls over on his back and pees like a fire hose, but we figured out that if we cough, he stops and jumps up! Oh, and he loves to ride in our daughter's car seat when she's not in the car!

I could go on and on about our wonderful Dachshunds, but will stop here. We are all long time fans of your blog, Dixie and Duncan especially enjoy the videos!

Magistrate Corrigan in the Harlem Police Court yesterday was called upon to unravel a tangle among two Dachshunds, two Scotch Collies, Miss Catherine Kell, a cook, and Irvin E. Mansdach [huh?], a lawyer. The result of the untangling was a fine of $2 imposed on Miss Kell for assaulting Mansdach.At 9:30 A.M. Mr. Mansdach left his home at 460 Riverside Drive with his two Dachshunds on leash to give them their morning walk. At about the same moment Miss Kell, who is cook for Mrs. Michael J. Drummond, wife of the former Commissioner of Charities, left the Drummond home at 435 Riverside Drive, accompanied by the family collies. Mr. Mansdach is about five feet tall and wiry, and has a decided antipathy to collies; Miss Kell is six feet tall and formed proportionately.Being unleashed, the collies ran over to the Dachshunds and made friendly overtures. Mr. Mansdach resented this and kicked the first collie in the head, knocking it unconscious, and struck the other with his heavy cane. The second collie yelped with pain and Mr. Mansdach resumed his promenade. Miss Kell was petrified for a moment at the assault on her charges; then she started after the lawyer.When she overtook him she demanded to know what he meant by it all, and as he opened his mouth to reply she swung her right fist to his jaw and knocked him down. Mr. Mansdach attempted to arise, but the cook promptly sat on him. With great effort he got his police whistle and Policeman Beatty of the West 125th Street station responded. He found a lively battle, with first the cook on top and then the lawyer. He escorted them to the police station, where Mr. Mansdach made a charge of assault against Miss Kell.The combatants were then taken to the court, which was crowded with fashionably gowned women from Riverside Drive, anxious to see the outcome of the case. Mrs. Drummond and her sister, Miss Bessie Blasett, stated that they had seen the attack on the dogs. J. Gage, of 456 Riverside Drive, said the same and characterized it as "most brutal."Magistrate Corrigan decided that Miss Kell was at fault and Mrs. Drummond paid her cook's fine. The Magistrate advised a representative of the S.P.C.A., who was in court to investigate the case. When Mrs. Drummond left court Mr. Mansdach offered profuse apologies and tried to reimburse her for the $2 fine, but she did not answer him and drove away.After it was all over it developed that the collies were safe at home, but Mr. Mansdach's Dachshunds had run off and disappeared, taking their leashes with them, the moment the trouble started.

via The New York Times, April 2, 1914.Unrelated image: early 1900s postcard.

Just when you think that all is wrong with the world, a story like this pops up. Meet our newest hero, Robert Towles, and the Dachshund he saved from a burning home in a northern Jackson, Mississippi subdivision yesterday. Excerpt from the Clarion Ledger:

Towles and co-worker Jay Darby, both employees of Kelty Tile and Marble in Ridgeland, were headed to a job site in the neighborhood when they spotted smoke coming from an attic vent atop the home located at 1035 Hallmark Drive. Concerned that someone might need help inside the home, Towles and Darby knocked repeatedly on the home's doors, and when they got no response, Towles kicked the door in and proceeded inside to warn homeowner Myron Smith.Smith [who was in the shower] said he had no idea his house was on fire until Towles told him to get out. "He said, 'Well, man, you got to get out of here because the roof is on fire. The house is about to go."Smith managed to grab a suit, as Towles ran to the back door and rescued Smith's son's dachshund from its kennel.

Monday, November 8, 2010

It's hard to be a half-world away from the ones you love. Thanks so much to Nicole Kohlbacher for writing in:

Dear Joey and Maggie,

I just stumbled across your website, and I have to say I love it, even though I browsed through it crying the whole time. I have 4 Dachshunds at home. The dad (Flash, 10 years old), the mommy (Aika, 5 years old) and their kids (Poncho and Diva, 3 years old). But home is really in Brazil, and I just moved to Germany to go to college and they are still there with my mom. I have to say, I miss them more than I miss my friends.

I wanted to share a story about Flash, the dad with you guys.

Last Christmas, early in the morning I noticed that he was kind of "moaning", so I went to look what that was about. He screamed, really screamed, like a person in really great pain would, and he was in so much pain, that he grabbed my hand in his mouth and wouldn't, couldn't, let it go. My mom literally had to open his mouth for me to remove my hand. (I just had some bruises and a bitten up pinky). After that he didn't get up, didn't move his head, tail, mouth, and he couldn't feel anything. Thank God Sao Paulo is a big city and we could find a vet on the 25th.

The first thing the vet said was that it wasn't good. It could be a herniated disc, and if it was one, he would probably never walk again, or it could be something else which would kill him quick.

I couldn't accept that, and we did a bunch of exams, I spent all my Christmas money on them, and it really turned out to be a herniated disc. Another vet, the surgeon, told me I could let them operate him, he would probably never walk, or put him to sleep? But how could I do that to a dog, who has always been there for me? through my childhood, my teenage years, everything. And has always been, as cliche as it may sound, there for me no matter what. So I put all my savings together and my mom helped me and we paid for the surgery.

The surgery in itself went good, but he had a lung embolism. They prepared me for the worse, but every time I went there to visit him it looked better...He started opening his eyes, and he felt if you pinched him on his tail or paws. Two days later the embolism was gone and the day after that he started eating, but only if I gave it to him :) . Day 7 we got to take him home with us. He wasn't walking or moving. We had to give him tons of medicine in the mouth, food, which he mostly vomited in the beginning, water...We had to make him poo or pee. Everything. We literally took care of him 24/7, because he would wake up at night crying because he was in pain.

But 2 weeks later he started moving around in his bed with the help of his head, then moving or better yet, kicking one paw, just a little. And he stopped waking up at night, nor did he need to take any medicine. We would put him on the floor and he would follow the other dogs, dragging himself by moving his head. He responded if we pinched him, kicked his paws. He had nerves. After one consult the vet was astonished. He said it was a miracle, that he hadn't had thought that the surgery would turn out this well. He made us hire a acupuncture specialist and physical therapist who would come to our house 2 times a week. One month after the surgery he was walking like a newborn, next to the wall, falling, getting up again. In 2 more weeks he was walking, limping a bit, but walking.

I think what motivated him the most, was watching the other dogs hover over him and going walking, specially because he was always the most enthusiastic one to go out for a walk. When he saw the leashes, even while he couldn't walk, he would go crazy.

Now he is walking normally, no limp, the only extra care we have is not to let him jump, or walk on stairs. But he is healthy, walking, happy and being the best dog anyone deserves to have.

Another thing I wanted to share is that these dogs are friends. They really are. You see that in the way they interact.

Well, dogs rock, especially Dachshunds, and I am sorry for the rambling, the bad English, and I don't even know if anyone is EVER going to read this, but after reading your blog I just had to share the story and write/talk about them, because I miss them so much!!!!!

The Idaho Humane Society rescued 24 small breed dogs, most miniature Dachshunds, from a home in La Grande, Oregon on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010. A concerned citizen from Boise alerted the IHS to the overwhelmed breeder with several dozen dogs in poor physical health living in less than ideal conditions when she visited the breeder to purchase a puppy. Those interested in adopting one of these Dachshunds can visit the Idaho Humane Society in Boise. Because the breeder gave the dogs up willingly, no charges will be filed.
See 13 nice photos at The Idaho Statesman.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Thanks so much to Jean Siska for writing in about the recent Dallas-Fort Worth Dachshund Rescue Family Reunion and Picnic! Looks like everyone had a great time. All the Rescues were asked to wear their green bandana. She writes:

Hi Joey and Maggie!

Hope you’re all well. DFW Dachshund Rescue had our adopters’ picnic on Halloween and had almost 100 of our adopted dogs and their families show up. The incomparable Teresa Bergput together this great video. Every green bandana is a life saved!

Deck the Halls Dachshund style this year by winning this Dachshund Silver Christmas Wreath, which is being raffled off right now by MidWest Dachshund Rescue. Raffle Ticket prices start at just $1 for one ticket. Hurry though, the drawing will be held on November 17th so that you have your wreath in time for the holiday season.

Favorite Love Stories From The Archives

The Long and Short of Dachshunds in Popular Culture

FALL AND WINTER FASHION FOR DACHSHUNDISTS

Put a Dachshund in your lap, turn up the volume, and select the full screen button at bottom right corner of video to view full size.

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(Your hosts, Bette and Rowdy)

Do you know a special dachshund? Wait..., they're all special! Submit a dachshund news story and tell us all about it. We're always looking for fun dachshund news, stories, art, history, trivia, or articles. The only requirement really is a nice photo, video, or image to go along with it. Send it on to your hosts, Bette and Rowdy. Or just drop a line to say 'Woof!' We apologize that we can't always get back to everyone for every wonderful piece submitted.